Tales of Quetzalia
by Benit149
Summary: Takes place 1000 years after Tales of Zestiria, where a single question leads a troubled adventurer into a journey that will defy the tragic norms which defined the world for millennia, and set it free from the one constant in human history; malevolence. High spoiler alert for both Berseria and Zestiria.
1. Chapter 1: Promise Upon the Black Hat

**TALES OF QUETZALIA**

" **Story of Facing the Darkness With Courage"**

 **Chapter 1: Promise Upon the Black Hat**

A 'Tales of…' story based on Tales of Berseria and Tales of Zestiria

Written by Benit149

All canon characters and concepts from Berseria and Zestiria belong to Namco

All original characters belong to me

* * *

Desolation. That wasn't just the state this world was in; it served as its very name.

It wasn't a large planet, able to support at least one billion people at max on its primary continent Glenwood, along with the many islands scattered about in the grand ocean that made up about 80% of Desolation's surface. Up until 2000 years ago, the Glenwood continent actually used to exist as a number of large islands that were situated near each other, and could only be accessed by seafaring ships.

Within the last two millennia, two very pivotal events to Desolation's future occurred, even so far as changing its very geography. The first event was loosely remembered as the Era of Asgard, also colloquially known as the Era of Disaster, when the very first recorded Shepherd and Lord of Calamity – essentially a hero of holy light and a villain of pure darkness – were ever recorded in history. The Midgand Empire, founded by the descendants of King Claudin Asgard, ruled the islands at the time, but then the Shepherd created an organization called the Exorcists' Abbey that would wind up trumping even the royals' authority.

This only lasted three very short years before the Lord of Calamity defeated the Shepherd and caused the Abbey to collapse. The details weren't certain with the Empire's fate, but many speculated that they had lost a lost of power and faith from the people, and lost so much of their noble status that they were reduced to being outdated rulers of the western nation on Glenwood, the Rolance Empire. It's said that it wasn't even the Midgand family that founded Rolance, but rather another house known as Dragonia.

As if that wasn't enough, the Lord of Calamity was also known to be powerful enough to cause a shift in Desolation's landmasses. He (some reports stated that it was a she, but there was no concrete proof) had not only challenged the Shepherd but also the god that he served, and in order to do so, the Lord of Calamity awakened the Four Empyreans from their long slumber. Their awakening actually caused the many islands to change positions and, for the most part, merge into one massive continent. After the Lord of Calamity defeated the Shepherd and god, they just vanished like a bad dream, never to be seen again…

Another thousand years after the Era of Asgard saw the second crucial event in recent human history. This was the Age of Chaos where there once again appeared a Lord of Calamity, but this one was far stronger than any other before, and thus future generations dubbed him the Great Calamity. His might was so immense that he had the power of a god-turned-demon stored within his body, and that he truly was capable of destroying the world. In response, a Shepherd of equal strength and will rose to challenge this tremendous evil, now famously called the Great Shepherd. Not only did the Great Shepherd had to contend with the Great Calamity, he had to purify a _god_ to save everyone from imminent destruction. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was able to accomplish this lofty goal.

Following this event, there was a lot more knowledge and wisdom regarding how Shepherds and Lords of Calamity came to exist, and that the god who could purify evil needed to be respected and worshipped lest he'd be tainted with that same evil and turn on the world. The Great Shepherd would also be heralded as a hero, with his lofty tales recounted in the second Celestial Record, but there were also plenty of stories detailing the tragic story behind the Great Calamity's existence.

Now it was 1000 years after the Age of Chaos, in the Era of Silence. More Shepherds and Lords of Calamity came and went as time marched on, but their battles were nowhere nearly as pivotal to Desolation's history. The planet was trapped in an endless loop of heroes and villains rising to face each other in epic battles of good and evil, with seemingly no resolution in sight. While each individual battle was necessary to ensure Desolation's continued existence, the world itself was beginning to fall apart from the stress. Mountains collapsed into meager hills, areas that were once plentiful now began to rot away and vice versa, and islands were forever submerged beneath the rising waters. The rapid changes caused by the many wars and the Empyreans' forced awakening were threatening to turn Desolation into one gigantic planet submerged underwater.

The people didn't have much time left to respond. Given another 1000 years, perhaps even less, human civilization would cease to exist. In other words, the Era of Silence was humanity's last breath of existence before their voices, dreams, and memories faded into the void. This was the current state of the world, and many actually prayed for a third miraculous event to occur that would save them from this impending crisis. But it couldn't be a Shepherd or Lord of Calamity that would save them; they were too busy fighting each other to worry about the planet. No, someone else needed to face this disaster head-on and find a solution - someone who was outside the confines of good and evil, and could see the world for the bigger picture it was.

Maybe it was or wasn't an answer to those prayers, but there _was_ someone who fit those criteria. It wasn't known at this very moment, but this person's journey to find the truth would spark a revolution that had been waiting for many millennia even before the Era of Asgard.

* * *

Trizolde Cave was the only cavern that connected the vast plains of Zaphgott Moor to Northgand, a country that had been blocked off from southern Glenwood by impenetrable mountains. Once upon a time, the cavern used to be known as West Laban Tunnel, and didn't actually connect to any landmass since it reached out to the ocean. The island of Northgand since merged with Westgand where West Laban was, and the cavern was renamed Trizolde. For the longest time, Trizolde still didn't connect to Northgand, thus isolating the country from Glenwood and leaving its development shrouded in mystery.

However, recent rumors and world developments revealed that a new entrance had been created to Northgand. Despite this surprising event, there weren't many people in a hurry to explore this new opening. Not long after this occurrence, a force of well-armed mercenaries bombarded the only town in Zaphgott Moor, Lohgrin, and seized control of it from the Rolance Empire. Anyone from the kingdom who tried to investigate were either seriously injured or killed. Consequently, any goods that originated from Lohgrin were now diverted to Northgand, hurting Rolance's economy.

It was difficult for large forces to confront this problem, but for smaller groups of fleet-footed adventurers, it wasn't too hard to avoid the barbaric warriors. This was the situation that a pair of travelers were in as they entered through the mouth of Trizolde Caven at the Zaphgott Moor side. They had found an opportunity when the mercenaries weren't looking to sneak in and begin proceeding through the winding hollows northward.

The first figure wiped their brow and sighed, "Phew… We made it."

"That was the easy part," their partner grumbled. "There's nowhere for you to hide if any of those filthy miscreants happen to stumble upon you."

"It's okay. If it comes down to it, I'll just fight my way through them."

"Or I could teleport us out of here."

"Oh no, I wouldn't want you to use your powers if you felt forced to."

"Don't get me wrong. I'd be retreating to save my own skin, and to make sure you survive long enough to see your end of the deal through."

"Of course…"

The first person's features were difficult to see due to the hooded green wool poncho he wore over his shoulders and arms. He kept the hood over most of his face, but it was evident that a layer of bandages were wrapped around his left eye and head, resembling a tight-fitting halo of gauze that covered up the grisly scars beneath. His remaining eye was a deep red color that complemented his very short white hair, making him appear like an albino. Along with the heavy poncho, he wore a black bodysuit and green denim shorts over it, black gloves, knee-length black socks, and green boots. He kept a naginata fastened to his back as his weapon of choice.

His female companion's appearance was in complete contrast to the young man's more colorful and endearing disposition. She embodied the gothic style, with long black hair that gradually turned purple at the tips, and was tied into a pair of flowing pigtails that ran the length of her back. Her dull purple eyes always appeared flat and uninterested at the world around them, and her skin was a sickly pale pallor. What she considered 'clothing' was a piece of black cloth that covered her frontside but kept the backside fully exposed saved for a single knot near the top. Her black shorts would be considered distasteful for how high up the legs they were cut at, but she did have her legs covered in black thigh-length boots.

The unlikely duo continued their way through the confusing caverns, ducking in and out of hollow dead ends in a frustrating effort to get their bearings straight. The only things they could rely on in these endless corridors of blue grottos were patches of glowing mushrooms that illuminated the otherwise dank atmosphere. After an hour of aimless searching, the male sat down on a rock and sighed, "We're never going to get anywhere like this…"

"Are you _sure_ there's an exit in the Northgand side?" his languid partner asked brusquely.

"I haven't seen any records for ages, so I assume there never was one. But those claims from Lohgrin's survivors can't be ignored either. There _has_ to be a new entrance somewhere around here."

"I still feel like you're wasting your time."

Just then, a third voice echoed throughout the cave, "Go left twice, then make a hard right, and you'll head straight on to that new entrance you're talking about."

"Who's there!?" the young man demanded and shot to his feet.

After a moment of tense quiet, they heard footsteps approaching from around the corner. The person who appeared before them was a tall, tanned man with long silver hair that had green tips, and he wore a black hat with metal coins looped around the brim. He didn't wear a shirt so as to show off his toned abs, but he did wear black pants and steel-toed boots. His sharp brown eyes automatically indicated that he was a man of high confidence, and that taking him lightly would be a big mistake. Upon seeing him, the dark-clothed female scowled and looked away from him in disgust.

"Well, well! Look who we have here," the newcomer scoffed. "A couple of tourists on some kind of demented pleasure trip through the mountains, huh? And not only that, but I see that you've roped an innocent fellow into following your whims, eh?"

He glared at the girl and snarled, " _Servant of the Great Calamity?_ "

Her lip curled, and she retorted, "That's Symonne to you, monkey."

The spear-wielding male didn't react to the newcomer's insult. He just listened quietly as the tanned man continued, "Well then, you'll have to-"

He reached into his pocket and slung a pendulum at Symonne's head while shouting, "PARDON ME!"

She boredly teleported out of the way before the projectile could hit her, and reappeared next to her partner. She shrugged and said, "Still can't get over that, can you? It's been a thousand years already. Get with the times already, you underdressed ogre."

"Hoh! _You're_ one to call me underdressed!" the attacker laughed. "And besides, I don't allow unfinished business to be left hanging without a resolution. Sorey and the others might have forgiven you, but I'm not so easy to convince. I was satisfied with just leaving you there to cry in anguish, but I can't allow you to run amok any longer."

"Run amok? You make it sound like I'm trying to stir up trouble."

"Are you not? You're bringing that guy to dangerous territory. What're you after?"

Symonne had grown tired of arguing with the man and brandished an arm's length baton, intent on fighting him. However, her partner raised his arm before her and said, "Wait. I'll talk to him."

"Don't expect to get far with him. He's got rocks in that thing he calls a brain."

The green-garbed fellow approached his opponent and declared, "You're wrong. I came here on my own accord. Symonne only agreed to follow me. She has no intentions of causing me any trouble whatsoever."

"Oh, really?" the stranger wondered after letting out an impressed whistle. "How confident are you that she won't cause harm to you?"

"Sure as sure can be. I don't understand everything you two are talking about, but I do know that she's not the same person as she was 1000 years ago. I can tell that she wants to make an earnest effort to change, and I won't take kindly to anyone who insults her for her past actions."

"Then show me how strong your faith in her is," the unknown man wielded his pendulum again and thrust it at the boy's head. He remained calm and still as the gemstone shot past his face, causing his hood to slide off his cranium and reveal his pure white hair. The attacker grinned and said, "Not bad. You could tell my aim was off on purpose, huh?"

"Are you done screwing around?" the unfazed young man demanded as he reached for his spear. "Let's keep this duel short."

"Totally agree with you there, buddy. Oh, we should probably introduce ourselves first. The name's Zaveid the Whirlwind; fighter, wanderer and former Sub Lord to the Great Shepherd Sorey."

"… Rhett."

"Short and sweet, huh? Well then, _let's go_!"

Rhett immediately dashed forward to meet Zaveid head-on, but judging by the pendulum that the rogue was using, he could tell that getting in close wasn't going to be easy. As he suspected, Zaveid raised his arm and chanted, **"Wind Lance!"**

"Kuh!" Rhett gasped as he stepped aside a green arrow of winds that shot straight for his face. It wouldn't have been powerful enough to kill him, but the facial wounds certainly would have been unpleasant. Zaveid fired multiple Wind Lances that Rhett had to dodge before whipping his pendulum at the spear. The string wrapped around it several times, and Rhett had to hold on tight to prevent Zaveid from taking it out of his hands.

"At least you're agile, I'll give you that much!" the arrogant fellow exclaimed with a wide grin. "You're a lot better than when I fought the Great Shepherd for the first time too, even with you having only one eye! Or is that bandage supposed to be a handicap to conceal your true abilities!?"

Rhett didn't want to retort, lest he gave in to Zaveid's taunting and lost focus. He then did the unthinkable and actually let go of the naginata on purpose, causing Zaveid to stumble back as the pendulum retracted and flung the spear at his body. Rhett dashed in once more and, with a vivid battle cry, leapt off the ground and delivered a splendid roundhouse kick to the man's cheek, knocking him sideways. Rhett deftly retrieved his weapon as it fell to the ground and stabbed at Zaveid's feet, then pulled back to make him lose his balance. He did another jumping kick, but this one was a backwards flip that allowed his foot to smack firmly against Zaveid's bare chest.

" **Blazing Stars!"** Rhett shouted upon landing and thrust his polearm multiple times. Even though Zaveid was winded, he managed to avoid the worst of the onslaught, but couldn't prevent strands of his hair from being cut nor his skin from being lacerated. He was originally just toying around with the one-eyed traveler, but now Zaveid was getting angry. He got into a hunched posture and dangled his pendulum from his hand while chanting a spell.

"Ready for some dirty dancing!?" he shouted, then chanted, **"Hell Gate!"**

Rhett looked behind and noticed a pair of swirling green orbs materialize that rushed past him in an X formation, with him at the epicenter. Without thinking, he contorted his body to dodge aside just in the nick of time, since a small storm of winds erupted around the paths the orbs made. The violent gusts did send him tumbling across the uneven ground, so it wasn't exactly a pleasant landing. Rhett couldn't afford to take even a moment's rest however; the instant he looked up, the pendulum suddenly smacked the ground right in front of his face and pulled back to Zaveid's hand.

Rhett scrambled to his feet and gasped heavily. He held his spear tightly, then spun it multiple times to gain power and momentum before scraping the blade against the bedrock that generated sparks for a split second. The energy stored in the weapon transformed into a powerful ground wave that many martial artists referred to as a Demon Fang. While Zaveid was used to seeing swordsmen and martial artists calling upon this skill, it had been a long time since he witnessed it coming from a spear user, so he wasn't ready to parry it. The wave smashed against him and sent him flying back-first against the wall. Rhett ran at him while preparing his spear to perform a single mighty forward thrust.

" _ **STOP!"**_

The blade stopped just short of Zaveid's chest. Rhett was alarmed to hear his opponent shout that one word, so immediately ceased his attack and remained perfectly still. Zaveid gasped for a few moments, then raised his hands and said, "That's enough. You've got me."

Rhett wasn't sure if he actually was surrendering, or if this was one of his ploys. Even so, he pulled back while remaining poised to fight and allowed Zaveid to catch his breath. Symonne walked up to her partner once she saw that the battle was over and scoffed, "You really are an idiot. What in the world were you doing, using such powerful magic in these tight corridors? You don't care if this place collapses on us?"

"Hey, what's with the animosity? Your friend won against me! You should celebrate a little more than that, toots!" the renegade exclaimed with a shrug.

Rhett plainly stated, "You were fighting seriously at the beginning, but then you let your guard down too many times. Well whatever the reason is, I want you to get out of our way now."

"Hey, what's the hurry? We only just met and you want me to get lost already?"

"We _are_ in a hurry. So if you don't mind…"

"Okay, okay, I get it. After all-"

Zaveid tipped his black hat forward and flashed his mischievous grin, but this time it appeared a bit softer.

"Who am I to go against a real lady's wishes?"

Rhett lowered his spear, then sighed and asked in a more feminine voice, "So you noticed?"

"Don't underestimate my ability to sense how a woman behaves. No matter how much she may cover it up, none of her nuances will get past me."

It was true. Rhett wasn't a 'he', but rather a 'she'. Due to certain circumstances several years ago, she had changed her appearance and tone of voice to be more masculine in order to deceive others. Even the name 'Rhett' was one of her choosing since she abandoned her real name back then. She was impressed with Zaveid's ability to perceive who she really was despite all the effort she put into masking it.

Even so, Rhett retorted, "I may be impressed with your keen insight, but I still don't appreciate people trying to tell me who I can and can't be friends with."

"Hey, hey," the cocky fighter shrugged, "you really don't know who you're mixing it up with, do you?"

"Is there a problem with me traveling with Symonne?"

"You know of the sins she committed in the past, right?"

"She's told me everything about herself."

"Has she now!? Define what 'everything' is."

"You're getting really annoying," Rhett grumbled. "She told me about her allegiance with the Great Calamity during the Age of Chaos, and of the deeds she committed in his name. Even so, she healed my wounds after the war from five years ago. I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for her, and I'm very grateful for what she did for me. And in this very moment, we're going to head north. Anyone who tries to stop us, for one reason or another, will soon regret it."

Zaveid whistled in admiration and said, "Guess you've sold me, sweetheart. If you're that serious about going to Northgand with Misty by your side, then I'll have to let bygones be bygones. But a real gentleman like me wouldn't go without delivering a warning."

"About Symonne?"

"No, no, about Northgand. You should know about their gradually increasing invasion of Rolance and Hyland."

"Of course I know. The war was sparked by Rolance's suspicion that Hyland was in cahoots with Northgand, after Northgand literally punched a hole in this cave and sent troops to occupy Lohgrin. Rolance's forces haven't been able to reoccupy Lohgrin all this while."

"And how could a backwards country like Northgand suddenly have the ability to make two nations, who have existed for at least a millennium unopposed, quiver in their boots?"

"That's what Symonne and I are going to find out," Rhett said.

"What for?"

"I'm not obligated to answer you. Now are you done interrupting us? We would like to be on our way."

"Oof, feisty," Zaveid cringed and began to walk past her. "I just thought I could prevent you from getting into a bad situation, but my worries appear to be unfounded. It's just that if you got yourself killed, I'd feel bad for not trying to stop you. Hell, I'm still kind of worried."

"What we do really shouldn't be your concern."

"True, but I'm gonna be concerned about it whether you like it or not. Northgand has become an ugly place for anyone from Rolance or Hyland to be sticking their necks into without a plan of action."

"Then what would satisfy you to leave us be?"

"Hmm… How about this?" Zaveid took off his black hat and placed it on Rhett's head before she could stop him. "Promise me that you'll take care of this while in Northgand. If you're strong enough to keep it safe and bring it back to me in the future, then I won't bother you again."

Symonne clenched her teeth and looked away in disgust from the hat. Rhett didn't notice this as she said, "Whatever works for you."

"Great! Then I'll get lost now," the wind seraph waved his hand and prepared to leave. As he passed by Symonne, he whispered in a low voice so Rhett couldn't hear him, "I'm not gonna let you forget."

"Tch…"

Once Zaveid was out of the duo's sight, Rhett let out an exasperated sigh and muttered, "Finally got rid of him."

She patted the hat firmly on her head, but Symonne barked, _"Put it away."_

"Hm?"

"I said don't put that thing on!"

"Why not? It'd be easier to wear it than to stash it."

"I don't care! Just get it out of my sight!"

"Sure…" Rhett mumbled apprehensively as she put it in her bag. "What's got your feathers so ruffled all of a sudden?"

"It's just… um…" the seraph fumbled with her words, then exclaimed, "It'd just make me think of that tactless monkey too much. Ugh, I feel like I need a bath just from listening to his womanizing garbage."

"I guess. Well, let's see if Zaveid's directions can be trusted."


	2. Chapter 2: Clash in the Empty Halls

**TALES OF QUETZALIA**

 **Chapter 2: Clash in the Empty Halls**

Rhett and Symonne continued through Trizolde, following Zaveid's directions until they finally saw a hint of sunlight piercing the eerie blue darkness surrounding them. They were lucky not to have run into anyone else with hostile intentions, so while the sunshine was refreshing, they were still apprehensive about being ambushed again. Rhett stepped through first and panned her eyes across their surroundings. She didn't see anyone, so they exited safely.

The local flora was lush and plentiful, but it was clear that the area had not been inhabited by humans for a very long time. A 10-minute walk later saw them approaching the ruins of a town, with old wooden structures that had once functioned as piers now crumpled into useless heaps due to the shifting land. A grand entrance to the town was now reduced to a pair of pillars. The only viable structure remaining was a tree-infested storehouse that would collapse into rubble given another 100 or so years of neglect. Rhett found a sign nearby and blew the many layers of dirt and dust off it.

"Helal… Hella-something? I can't make it out," she squinted, then looked around again. "Most of this town appears to have been worn away by the elements, but that large building over there looks like it was used as a warehouse."

"Better be careful. Those barbarians could be using it as a hideout," Symonne warned her.

Rhett explored the ancient building, being able to climb in on a large tree root that had wormed its way through the stone wall throughout the centuries. Inside were old crates and barrels that had long since been plundered of their contents. She explored every corner she could reach, but found no signs of anyone ever having been here.

"It's okay. The place is clean," she told the seraph, who likewise followed her inside. "This could make for a good resting place if we need it."

"It's such a dump, not even the bad guys want to use it."

"Beggars can't be choosers. We need to take anything we can get if we're to survive in a country that hasn't been explored for ages."

"Humph…" Symonne grunted and leaned her back against the wall. When she planted her foot against a section of the ground however, it suddenly broke through and caused her to slip on her knee. Her cry of surprise alerted Rhett, and she ran to her partner's side to help pull her back up.

"Are you okay!?" she exclaimed.

"Ugh… somehow… Damn it, what the hell was that?"

"Hmm?" Rhett blinked when she looked through the newly formed hole. "Look, there's a ladder."

"Some kind of secret cellar then?"

The adventurer pondered what to do next, and Symonne groaned, "You're not seriously thinking of going down there, are you?"

Rhett didn't respond and leaned in to shake the ladder to test its integrity. Although it looked to be in bad shape, it still felt solid to her. She pressed one foot on a rung and found it to be strong enough. She nodded and said, "It's fine. It wasn't exposed to the elements, so it's still pretty sturdy."

She proceeded to carefully climb down until she reached the bottom. It didn't lead into a cellar, but rather an entrance to the outer border of the former city that ran through a short cavern. She ran around the narrow bend until she could see the terrain and gasped in amazement. Verdant grass swayed in the breeze, dotted by white wildflowers and herbs. Tall trees provided shade from the sun, and thick patches of ivy dangled down the small cliffs. Rhett climbed up some strong ivy so she could get a better look at the ocean. The view was absolutely breathtaking, with sparkling blue seas complementing the natural greenery. Songbirds chirped nearby, while seagulls flew in the distance.

"Amazing…" she whispered.

Symonne merely teleported to Rhett's side and looked around as well. "I guess it's not so bad."

"Right? You only get to see this kind of view in Ladylake. Hard to imagine that this was once all covered in snow and ice year-round."

"I can sense that we're in Musiphe's domain, so that might be the reason."

Musiphe was one of the five Empyreans, the most powerful seraphim in the world, and he commanded the power of fire. The other three affiliated with an element were Amenoch, with dominion over water; Hyanoa, who controlled wind; and Eumacia, who had power over the earth. The fifth Empyrean, Maotelus, was the Dragon of Light responsible for granting Shepherds the Silver Flame, which could burn away impurities that would otherwise stain the world with blights. Maotelus' domain, or a blessing that extended around a certain area, was strong enough to encompass the entire continent, while the Four Lords had their domains in particular regions of the world.

"If I remember correctly, the very first Lord of Calamity had awakened the Four Lords prematurely, which caused such radical shifts in the environment," Rhett recalled while scribbling some notes in a handbook. "Northgand was even a separate island, but it's been merged with Glenwood for a long time."

"Look, are we here to just stand around and admire the view, or do we have actual business here?" Symonne asked impatiently.

"Of course we do, but I still have my side job as a surveyor to worry about."

"Deal with that later. I want to see where those barbarians are coming from and why they're suddenly giving Rolance and Hyland a run for their gald."

"Right… Guess there's nowhere else for us to go but northward," Rhett said as she pointed toward some ruins in the distance. She leapt down to the plains below and started jogging toward the dilapidated structure. The entrance, with its crumbling pillars and tiles overgrowing with wild grass, was only a small peek into what would be an enormous facility that stretched the northeast bend before it turned eastward and led to the eastern half of Northgand. The western half, which Rhett and Symonne were currently in, was not as large as the opposing side, since the island was originally formed as an asymmetrical hook. It was said that western Northgand essentially merged with Rolance territory, while the eastern area became part of Hyland, and the only part of the sea that remained in the middle of the 'hook' was a massive lake completely surrounded by mountains that hadn't been accessed by humans for centuries.

The duo entered the short cavern leading to the ruins, and Symonne wondered, "I hope we don't get caught in an earthquake or anything."

Rhett stared at the thick stone pillars holding the rocky ceiling over their heads. "Even if we did, I don't think there will be any problems. It'd have to take a sudden catastrophe to put this place out of commission."

They went inside and were met with endless hallways of grey stone carved with repeating glyphs and designs, lined with rows upon rows of pillars that were only starting to show their age. Despite the grand size of the facility, it emanated a bleak, depressing atmosphere that seemed to have never experienced even a moment of joy in its forgotten existence.

"What kind of place is this?" Rhett whispered, rubbing her hands together nervously. "It doesn't look like a castle, and there aren't any signs of an underground city."

Symonne inhaled deeply, then glowered, "It's faint, but I smell blood… Not just one or two drops, but a whole bloodbath."

The adventurer looked around at the walls and saw minute traces of strange splatters. "Now that you mention it, I see signs as well. If this wasn't a castle or a town, could it have been an arena?"

"Or a prison."

"Maybe even both…"

"Humans never change, do they? Whether it's for war or pleasure, they love spilling each other's blood."

"But if this place hasn't been used for a long time, then I believe humans have advanced beyond the days of senseless thrill killing."

"Only by a small step, in the grand scheme of things."

"It's still a step."

Symonne shrugged off Rhett's optimism and continued walking while the latter was preoccupied with writing notes. The seraph stopped however and looked around. Rhett asked, "What's the matter?"

"Did you hear something?"

"Nothing other than hollow noise."

The seraph concentrated again, placing her hand upon her short-pointed ear. "I hear the sound of clashing blades coming from below us."

"A fight!?" Rhett exclaimed and ran towards the nearest stairwell leading down.

"Don't be a fool," Symonne muttered while effortlessly taking chase. "It could be Northgand's flunkies sharpening their swords for more bloodlust. Unlike that dump of an abandoned town, this would be the perfect place to turn into a hideout."

The spear-user ignored her and reached the bottom. Now she was starting to hear the familiar metallic clanging sounds of weapons striking each other. She stopped short when she reached an intersection and listened carefully. Once she was sure she was getting close, she chose one of the paths and kept going deeper and deeper into the ruins. It was getting to be a confusing maze of twists and turns, not helped by how some rocks had fallen from above and blocked several hallways. She didn't pay much attention to where she was going, more concerned with finding a viable way to reach the source of the noises.

"Well since you're not going to listen to me, I say we're getting close," Symonne said.

They reached a set of doors that were left wide open, showing a series of stairs that led to a row of spacious jail cells. Just outside the prisons were several armored mercenaries surrounding what appeared to be a boy in his early teens or so wielding dual daggers. He glared at his opponents, waiting for one foolish enough to make the first strike.

"This all you got?" the boy taunted. Rhett was surprised to hear how confident he was, but then noticed that the brigands had torn clothes and open wounds all over them.

 _He did this much damage all by himself?_

"Laugh all you want, pipsqueak," one of the burly men scoffed. "Even if you take us down, you'll be chased to the ends of the world! Spare yourself the trouble and give up quietly!"

"Oh ho! So you're admitting that you're nothing more than the regent's disposable lackeys."

"What did you say!?"

"Hey, chill out, man. I always give respect to honest men who know their place in society."

The mercenary had heard enough and raised his cutlass. While they were preoccupied with their verbal spat, another one of the warriors quietly stepped behind the boy so he was just out of sight. When he found his chance, he ran for the young lad and raised his sword to try and slash at his back. Rhett had witnessed his tactic and dashed into the fray to stop it.

"What are you doing!?" she screamed before suddenly pinning the warrior's sword beneath her spear.

"Whoa!" the boy exclaimed. "Nice save there, buddy!"

"Stay out of this, pretty-boy!" the man she intercepted bellowed and slashed several times at her. "Or are you that eager to be sent to the gallows along with that accursed brat!?"

She deftly blocked his blows, then found an opening and jammed the butt of her spear straight against his solar plexus, momentarily incapacitating him. She leapt back from another attacker's strike and stood back-to-back with the boy, exclaiming, "I don't know what's going on here, but I'll give you a hand!"

"Careful! Their souls are darker than soy sauce! They won't hesitate to harvest your organs and make offal out of them!"

"Thanks for the warning, but I've seen uglier things."

The men were enraged that their ambush was interrupted by this unexpected visitor and began to charge at them en masse. Suddenly the ground around them turned dark, and a flurry of ominous purple swords popped out of the darkness with shrill _shing_ sounds. The assailants screamed in horror and scattered away from the duo. While some of them got hurt from the violet onslaught, none of them were fatally wounded.

"I swear," Symonne grumbled and sauntered over to Rhett. "Keep up this kind of behavior and you'll die a young death."

"Sorry about this," the adventurer chuckled sheepishly. "I know you have your oath to never kill, so just keep them busy for us. If they leave me with no choice but to end their lives, then I'll do so."

"If there's a silver lining to this, it's at least no one will get to hear them scream."

"Wah hah!" the boy let out a weird, cheerful battle cry and raised his fist triumphantly. "Now who's out of the freezer and into the frying pan, huh, fellas!?"

"Guh… if we don't bring the kid back, we'll be executed anyway…" the supposed leader groaned, then thrust his arm aside in a show of defiance. "Bah, what the hell!? There's only two of them! If we bring their heads back, the regent will definitely give us a huge reward!"

"Yeah, that's right!" his cronies shouted words of encouragement to boost their morale.

"Hmph. How lucky for us that they can't see me," Symonne smirked.

An unusual quirk about seraphs was that normal humans were unable to perceive them unless they had an ability called resonance in their bodies. That was why the mercenaries thought they only had to deal with Rhett and the dual-wielding boy, as they were completely oblivious to Symonne's presence. Conversely, Rhett was able to perceive Symonne because she was born with a high level of resonance, so she got to witness more than what her fellow humans could. Moments like these were a blessing that she could see seraphs and coordinate with them to confuse their enemies, but possessing resonance didn't always mean it was a good thing.

Regardless, the newly-formed trio had a battle to deal with.

Rhett and the boy nodded at each other and ran straight for the men first rather than waiting for them to come. The brigands glared at them with menacing smirks, but the confident look in the duo's eyes told them that something was up. All of a sudden, they rolled aside in opposite directions and ducked low. Uninterrupted by the mercenaries, Symonne cast Lightning Blaster and sent a conical wave of bright electricity hurtling for them, jolting their nervous systems so badly that it killed some of the men on the spot.

Those who survived or got away in time howled in horror at the gory remains that were their comrades just a second ago. One of the men yelped in a terrified panic, "Wh-Wh-What is this!? There's magic coming from out of nowhere!"

" _ **Son of a fucking bitch!"**_ the leader screamed, holding his nearly severed arm.

With what little morale they had completely gone, the warriors started to get frightened and tried to run away. Unfortunately for them, they were all deep inside an ancient ruin that had not had human contact for centuries. They were going to die as violent deaths as the inmates who were once held prisoner and sicced on each other for others' entertainment here. Despite these horrendous conditions, there were a couple of men who were able to escape the bloodbath with their lives.

Rhett and the strange lad weren't going to show the stragglers any compassion either. In an act of mercy, Rhett stabbed her spear through a man's stomach after he had been exposed to the full brunt of Symonne's spell and was quivering while aimlessly flailing his sword about. She had to whirl around and smash the non-bladed end against another fellow's neck as he was barreling for her back. It almost felt too easy for her to take these guys down, but she once served her country as a soldier for war and was used to the cruel truth of real battle – you either kill them, or you wind up killed yourself.

While Rhett was busy with the lower-level grunts, the boy ran right for the seriously wounded leader and clashed his blades against the man's broadsword. Even though his one arm was practically dangling on loose flesh at this point, he still had enough fight in him to rely on his other arm for combat. They struggled in an impressive dervish, but the boy clearly had the advantage with good speed and barely sustaining any injuries.

As the lad tried to go for his opponent's throat, the mercenary shouted, "Wait, time out! I-I-I give up! Please, give me a chance! I'll make it worth your while!"

"Gotta give you creds for being a real merc, turning sides when the going gets tough for you," the young man shrugged. "But I take threats to my life very seriously. I won't be able to get the wheels on my enterprise going if some half-baked soldier of fortune managed to stick me six feet under, y'know?"

"I-I-I get that! You're a Turtlez, aren't you? Always looking for good deals? Well I've got a real sweet one right here!"

"Oooh, this is getting real interestin'! Okay, I'll humor you a little. Whatcha got up your sleeve?"

"All you have to do," the man murmured, "is let me bring that thing you stole back to the regent, and I'll give you the location to my secret stash of gald and treasures."

"I thought the big boss man also wanted me dead. Aren't you gonna be in trouble if you don't bring my corpse back to him?"

"I'm sure he'll forgive me if I recover his stolen treasure. That's all he cares about anyway!"

"True, true… So how much is your so-called stash worth anyway?"

"Millions! You could buy a country with that much money!"

"Oh, _really?_ " the boy coyly scratched his chin while approaching the desperate man. "Sounds quite nice."

"Come on, buddy, what do you say?"

"Hmmmm! Welp, I've got two words for you."

"Yeah, what?"

" **Time Disintegration."**

"Wha-?"

After several high-speed slashes to his abdomen, he fell forward and collapsed to the ground dead. The boy stepped on the man's head and muttered, "I don't like being made fun of, chump. If you were rich enough to buy a country, wouldn't you be ruler of Northgand instead? Man, the quality of human lies has gotten much worse throughout the last 1000 years. What happened to the good ol' days of the Abbey fooling everyone with that shill about a 'daemonblight disease' and all that?"

During the conversation, Rhett and Symonne had wiped out the remaining brigands so that no one was left alive to threaten them. Symonne tossed her hair aside and grumbled, "What a bunch of cannon fodder. I shouldn't have wasted my precious energy on such low-level life forms."

"Such a shame that they turned to a life of crime," Rhett shook her head. "But no leniency for criminals is my policy. If they want to endanger me, then I have to return the favor in spades."

"Well said. I can't stand those flighty, saccharine types who go on and on about the value of life. I have more appreciation for realists who see the bitter truth for what it is."

With the battle over, they reunited with the satisfied boy and were able to get a closer look at him. Like Rhett, he wore a lot of green clothing and a turtle-shaped hat, but the shade was a more pine green compared to her apple green hooded capelet. He wore a thick shirt that covered even his hands, and shorts that were embellished with catchy tribal designs. His large belt was adorned with a copious number of pouches, satchels and flasks, and he always wore a leather backpack containing his goods. He had just enough space on his waist for a couple of sheaths for his dual blades.

"Are you all right?" Rhett asked him.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks for helping me, bud."

"I see that you can handle your own in a battle, but you were clearly outnumbered there."

"How pathetic… I can't expect to be rescued all the time. I act like the biggest turtle in the pond, but I'm really nothing more than a tadpole aimlessly wandering into a predator's jaws. I have to get stronger so I can face an entire army by myself! Then we'll see who the turtle's shell is!" 

"There's no need to feel so ashamed," Rhett assured him. "You can only do what you're able to do, right?"

"I know that, but…"

She didn't want him to put himself down any further, so she quickly changed the topic by exclaiming, "By the way, that was a lot of swordsmen who were after you! Did you do something to upset them?"

"No, nothing of the sort!" the boy shook his head fervently. "I've never even seen them before!"

"Then why were they trying to kill you?"

"Well… It's kinda complicated and all that…"

"Rhett," Symonne interrupted them with her usual bitter tone. "We don't have time to waste with this cretin. If you're expecting him to scratch your back in return, you're just setting yourself up to be disappointed."

"Eh? That wasn't my intent at all," Rhett raised her eyebrow.

"So you got into a fight just to be the nice girl? Forget what I just said about you being a realist. You're reminding me of Sorey all of a sudden."

"Do I really remind you of the Great Shepherd that much?"

The strangely dressed boy stormed up to Symonne and shouted, "Hey! Don't you look down on me, Creepy Girl! I might not be much, but a Turtlez never forgets to repay his debt!"

"Good for you. I'm still not buying your tripe, rugrat," the seraph retorted.

"Why, I oughta-!"

"Wait just a second!" Rhett stopped them, then asked the boy, "You can see Symonne!?"

"Of course I can! Every Turtlez can see seraphim just fine!"

"Turtlez?"

Symonne muttered, "An obnoxious race of human-amphibian hybrids who go around peddling crap at overinflated prices. Best to stay far away from them if you value your wallet."

"Well, that's mostly my cousins who do that. But I'm different," the Turtlez boy rebuked, then struck a flamboyant pose. "I'm a _special_ kind of Turtlez! Some call me a deviant, but I prefer to think of myself as a legendary Turtlez in the flesh! It's said that once every several thousand years, one of our kind will be born without a shell!"

"… And?"

"Hold up, missy! I'm getting to the best part! No one can swim the high seas like I can! Heck, I can swim from here to Southgand in an entire day without breaking a sweat! It'd take a week for my cousins to make the same trek!"

"Doesn't help much when we're in the mountains."

"What, not sold yet? Then how about this? I don't use the same dialect as the others, so I've learned to speak like normal people do. Wouldn't it be irritating to listen to me replacing all of my S'es with Z's instead? I'd be biting my poor tongue all the time!"

"Listening to you normally is already giving me enough of a headache."

"Now, now, let him say his piece," Rhett said. She asked the boy, "So you're a unique type of Turtlez, you say? What do you call yourself?"

"Glad you asked!" he nodded proudly. "I'm what is known as a dangerous creature of the boundless seas; a Kappa! So you can call me Kappa if you want, mister."

"Kappa, hm? My name's Rhett… Oh, and I'm actually a girl."

"EHHH!? I thought you were the paragon of manhood, what with dashing in and saving my amphibian bacon like a real hero would! Oh, the humanity! My pride! My poor, poor, precious pride has been skewered clean through like a shish kebab! How will I ever recover from the humiliation!?"

"Erm… What's wrong with being saved by a woman?"

"Great," Symonne shrugged. "So he a sexist as well. Let's ditch him before I'm tempted to add his body to the pile."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kappa shouted and grabbed Rhett's hands. "That came out all wrong! I meant to say that if I knew you were a lady, I would have called you the paragon of womanhood instead! I mean, gah! Why do you have to look so androgynous, my friend!? Can't you be more honest about who you are!?"

"Um… I have my reasons…" she murmured.

"Are we done here?" Symonne was clearly getting impatient with Kappa's slipshod behavior. "We have better things to do than to listen to this ungrateful charlatan."

"Objection! You can call me all the names you want, Creepy Girl, but I won't sit back and let you call me an ingrate! If I take pride in anything, it's repaying my debts to those who deserve my services!"

"Oh, really? Then you can start repaying that debt by getting lost already."

"Hm, hm, hm!" Kappa rubbed his nose with a cocky grin. "Nice try, but my debt isn't to you. It's to Rhett."

"What kind of broken logic is that?"

"It's perfectly sound logic, thank you very much!"

"I don't think I really did anything special," Rhett said, "but if you feel obligated to help me out, then I'll accept it. Let me ask you this then; is there any way you can help us navigate our way through Northgand? We just came through that new entrance in Trizolde Cave, and we don't know where we're going in this country."

"Ehhh… That's gonna be a bit of a problem…" he twiddled his gloved hands together. "Y'see, I was heading back towards Trizolde to get away from those guys."

"Oh? Then we were going in opposite directions and happened to bump into each other."

"Maybe, but take my advice, missies. You don't wanna get tangled up in Northgand's problems."

"Rolance would've loved to hear such advice before Northgand invaded Lohgrin," Symonne drawled. "What the hell are they after anyway? They fighting for resources to survive in this wasteland, or are they just trying to take over the world like other countries have in the past?"

"Hmmm. I wouldn't say for resources," Kappa folded his arms inquisitively. "But I don't know about conquering other lands either…"

"What do you mean it's not for resources?" Rhett asked. "From my understanding, Northgand is a desolate territory isolated from the rest of Glenwood by huge mountains and the great wall. The last census about 50 years ago stated that about less than 1000 people live here. Mt. Killaraus went dormant for centuries as well, so it's not like they have the volcano to rely on for resources."

"Like I said, it's complicated, and I really wanna get out of here as soon as I can… How about this? I'll show you what I'm talking about real quick-like."

"Show us?"

"It won't take long. We just gotta get out of Faldies and go back to the eastern entrance."

"Faldies?"

"The ruins we're in right now."

"Oh. I didn't know this place had a name. I have to make a note of that…"

"Anyway, after you see what I'm talking about, you'll wanna turn tail and bolt outta here too."

The two women glanced at each other, not liking the foreboding tone in Kappa's voice. Even so, Rhett said, "Better to see than to assume. Lead the way."


	3. Chapter 3: Power to Control Nature

**TALES OF QUETZALIA**

 **Chapter 3: Power to Control Nature**

Kappa guided Rhett and Symonne back upstairs through Faldies Ruins, retracing their steps back through the winding paths while avoiding blocked hallways. The trip itself was uneventful, but Rhett appeared pensive while glancing at Symonne continuously. The seraph had enough of her worrying and demanded, "What's the matter? Something I did wrong?"

"No, nothing like that…" Rhett murmured, then suddenly whispered so Kappa couldn't hear them, "Are you feeling okay?"

"What in the world are you going on about now?"

"I mean with your oath. You told me that you made an oath to never kill in exchange for your high magic power, yet you most definitely killed some of those men back there."

"… Oh, that. I didn't tell you about the stipulation, did I?"

"Stipulation?"

"I'm actually able to kill so long as I am protecting someone I consider a comrade. Back when I made the oath, I believed it was something I would never have to do. I didn't see the point about having to kill to protect someone else when I lived alone for so many years, cursed with a blessing that causes misfortune and malevolence to occur. I thought it was pathetic for the world to create seraphs like me who exist only to bring disaster to others, so naturally it would be just as absurd for me to use my magic to protect someone."

"Really? What made you change your opinion?"

"Your precious Great Shepherd muttered some gibberish about it being okay for me to be 'evil'."

"… Huh?" Rhett raised her eyebrow quizzically.

"He was an ineloquent bumpkin who tried to console me just before his final confrontation with Lord Heldalf. He also said that it's fine for all kinds of humans and seraphs to exist, all after losing one of his Sub Lords who had a similar blessing to mine."

"I see."

"I didn't understand him at the time, but I spent a long while thinking about it. I'm still not used to the idea of being around others given the nature of my blessing. But after seeing what you went through because of your high resonance level, I came to realize that both seraphs with rare negative blessings and humans with rare resonance levels can be misconstrued the same way – as something others don't understand, so they try their hardest to push anything they consider alien off to the side so they can live their shallow, normal lives without worry."

"So you were drawn to me because I suffered a similar loneliness as yours?"

"I guess," Symonne looked away bashfully. "But don't think for a second that this means we're friends. We're _comrades_ , got it? I'll only stay with you until you give up on this foolish quest of yours and fulfill your part of the bargain with me."

Rhett chuckled softly. "Don't be in a hurry for my final decision though. I'm only taking the first steps in my research. Until that time comes, you'll have to use your magic to keep me safe, 'kay?"

"Whatever you say…" the seraph trailed off. After a moment, she appeared to recall something and said, "Speaking of that Sub Lord, you know the hat that that dumbass Zaveid gave you?"

"You mean this one?" the adventurer asked while taking out the embellished black fedora from her bag. "What about it?"

"It actually belonged to that Sub Lord. Zaveid inherited it and became the replacement for the Great Shepherd's wind seraph."

Rhett paused and stared at the hat, thinking of how much history was possibly contained within it. She then said, "You reacted quite negatively to it when he gave it to me. Was there some connection between you and this deceased Sub Lord?"

"Yeah, but there's no point in me telling you. It's all been said and done."

"… Sure. I won't press you for details then."

Rhett smiled a little and asked, "So can I wear it now?"

"Not a chance," Symonne snapped.

"Oh, darn. Thought I'd test the waters a little."

"Are you kidding? It'd just look terrible on you."

"How would you know? I haven't even tried it on yet."

"Trust me. I have an eye for bad fashion, and that's as bad as it gets."

"Bad fashion…?" the adventurer murmured while looking over the seraph's questionable attire.

"Is there some kind of problem?"

"No, no. No problem at all. Eh heh heh heh."

Kappa looked back and demanded, "Hey, whatcha ladies gossiping about?"

"Nothing a shrimp like you needs to know," Symonne grumbled.

He noticed the hat and exclaimed, "Hey, that's Zavvy's, isn't it!?"

"Zavvy?" Rhett wondered. "You've met Zaveid before?"

"Yup! Had the pleasure of doin' some business with him in the past!"

"What in the world could that philandering monkey have that's of value to you?" Symonne wondered.

"Money, for one!"

"… Why do I bother asking?"

Rhett tried to change the subject before they could get into another argument, so she asked, "Are we almost out of here? I wasn't really paying attention to how deep underground this place goes while rushing down to help you."

"No worries," Kappa said. "Just another level and we'll be at the top. The east entrance is practically right where you two came in."

"Really? We must've just missed it."

The trio finished trudging up the last flight of stairs and returned to the main entrance. From there, he showed the way through to the eastern exit of Faldies Ruins while warning, "The thing I'm gonna show you is just ahead. Try not to drop your socks when you see it!"

"That depends on the subject of your little show-and-tell," Symonne said.

The trio finally wound up outside, where more grassy plains stretched along the northern convex coastline for miles. It was a bit chillier than the western half of Northgand, but it wasn't cold enough to prevent wildflowers from blooming.

"Welcome to Gaiburk Fields, ladies," Kappa spread his arms out. "This used to be a totally frozen wasteland with only one town in the area, but now it's the heartland of this country."

"I remember those mercenaries mentioning something about a regent," Rhett recalled. "What exactly is the political status of Northgand anyway? Neither Rolance nor Hyland know that much about it, and the only rumors I've heard are that the few people who live here are barbaric and lead tribal lives."

"The 'barbaric' part is right, for sure," Symonne grumbled.

Kappa grinned, delighted at the prospect of imparting his vast knowledge to others. "Actually it's not as bad as you think. The regular folks are part of small, nomad tribes who frequently wander the area."

"Really? We didn't see any in the western half," Rhett wondered.

"A lot of people believe that Faldies Ruins is cursed with the souls of the damned who died violent deaths ages ago, or so I've heard. That's why they don't venture through its halls unless it's a real emergency such as a food shortage or a weather crisis. As far as the mercs and troublemakers go, those guys are mostly focused in the capital, Meirchio. Those who don't want to live nomadic lives live there under the Duke of Northgand's rulership."

"A Duke? Why not a King?"

"Two millennia ago, Northgand used to be part of the Midgand Empire as a whole, but once the kingdom's power waned after the Abbey's fall, the very first Duke voted for secession from Midgand and began running the country as a separate entity. Because of the many mountain ranges surrounding Northgand's southern borders, neither Rolance nor Hyland had a way of trying to invade Northgand and acquiring its territory through war, so the Duke and his progenitors were virtually free to do as they pleased… Oh, I almost forgot! The first Duke was actually a Duchess! Her family is the top brass of this nation!"

"Interesting. What's the family's name?"

Kappa folded his arms and tilted his head side to side in contemplation. "Lemme think about that one… The first Duchess used to be part of the Abbey, but old records stated she defected… I think it was Hyme… Or was it Hume? Bah, I can't remember. Their names have changed so many times that I can't keep it straight."

"Oh, that's fine. I thought it would be incredibly prestigious like the Asgard, Dragonia or Midgand families."

"Nah, nothing like that, although I remember reading one of the lady poet Mayvin's stories that the Duchess had a strong swordsman by her side, allegedly from the ancient Rangetsu family."

"Wow," Rhett murmured. "I'm guessing the Duchess and this swordsman were the ones that started her family, right?"

"Dunno. The records aren't clear about that… Not that it matters anymore," the merchant boy shrugged.

"Why not?"

"The latest Duke and his entire family died under unknown circumstances. To avoid any of the stronger tribes from taking over this political vacuum, the Duke's will stated that a trusted aide of the family's would be appointed as the regent until another Duke could be found."

"So when did Northgand's military capabilities suddenly rise? Before the Duke's death, or after the regent took over?"

"Hmm… I'm not totally savvy on the country's inner workings, but the Duke was funding quite a few researchers and their work. I'm guessing the regent took over command of those studies and expected results practically right away. Don't ask me what the nature of that research is though."

"If the new entrance to Trizolde and the capture of Lohgrin is the result of that work, then…" Rhett trailed off, not wanting to finish what she wanted to say.

"Ugh," Symonne rolled her eyes and shook her head in disgust. "If all of this doesn't scream suspicious, I don't know what does."

"Wanna add a third thing to that list of yours, Rhetty?" Kappa asked with a coy grin.

"… Do I _want_ to?" the adventurer cringed.

"Then take a good look at the pride of Northgand, Mt. Killaraus!" he exclaimed and gestured his arm to direct the women's gazes toward the distance. They looked up at the skyline where they could clearly see a grand mountain in the distance. Centuries ago, it used to be an active volcano that was the primary source for a source of fuel and incendiary material known as flamestone. According to Northgand officials, Mt. Killaraus went extinct about 1200 years ago, thus diminishing any remaining supply of flamestone left, so flamestone became an obsolete source of energy, and society moved to using horses and steam for basic power.

However, none of that history was going through Rhett's mind as she stared in disbelief, transfixed upon the mighty miracle she was witnessing.

"Mt. Killaraus… It's…"

Rhett couldn't believe her eyes. She expected the largest volcano in the world to be a silent landmark showcasing nature's former fury contrasted with its current beauty. Instead, violent plumes of ash, smoke and gases rose out of the earth, making it appear like a natural smokestack that had gone out of control. Even from hundreds of miles away, the trio could feel the heat being generated. Although they were too far away for the ash to sprinkle down upon them, they could see a thick grey layer beginning to coat the upper reaches of the volcano.

"Why is… this happening…?" she uttered, feeling her throat go dry.

Even the normally indifferent Symonne couldn't help but feel amazed. Her eyes widened as she murmured, "Musiphe's domain was never this strong before…"

"What do you mean?"

"The other three elemental Empyreans are active, but many seraphs claimed that Musiphe's power waned so that the world could stabilize itself. Nowadays though, Amenoch is the most active of the Four since the planet's water level is rising so rapidly. Eumacia and Hyanoa are responsible for keeping the world's ecology in balance through stable weather patterns, but if Amenoch and Musiphe are the ones with more power at the moment, things could get disastrous real fast."

"The fire that destroys old life to make way for new, versus the boundless waters that are the source of infinite life," Rhett whispered, then inhaled sharply as she felt her heart sting with dreaded realization. "N-Northgand has managed to rekindle the fire that should have not reignited until much later…"

"Seems that way."

"I… I don't understand… This isn't just mere weaponry we're talking about… This is a power to change the world itself!"

Kappa put his hands in his pockets and muttered, "Told you. These guys mean serious business. Still fancy your luck with exploring the rest of this country?"

Rhett fervently shook her head and yelped, "Absolutely not! We have to get out of here right away!"

"Now you're talking my language, sister! Let's skedaddle!"

The trio bid a hasty retreat back to Faldies and dashed back through the western entrance to safer grounds. Kappa exclaimed, "There's a chance someone might have seen us. Let's lay low for now and wait for the coals beneath our feet to cool down."

"Is there anywhere we can hide?" Rhett asked. "The only place we saw was an ancient warehouse."

"Oh, you must've stumbled upon the ruins of Hellawes. I've got a better place in mind though."

He brought them a bit further westward, climbing up some hills and steep cliffs to reach the top of another high rise natural platform. He pointed over to a gaping cavern carved within the mountain face and explained, "We'll duck inside Hadlow Hollow for a day or two to make sure we aren't being chased. It isn't being used by the mercs, so we should be okay there."

They had to go around for a few miles, which led the team to the dilapidated gates of another town that had all but disappeared save for the framework of a couple of brick houses. Kappa said, "This used to be Beardsley, a tiny community made up of people who were either rejected from society or turned their backs to the world."

"If it was a frozen country back in ancient times, why in the world would anyone want to build a town here?" Rhett asked. "It doesn't look like they could have grown anything."

"Yeah, but this was back when Shepherd Artorius was in power 2000 years ago. Those who didn't obey the Abbey's precepts or flat out rejected them came to live here in isolation."

"Oh, that makes sense. I read that the Abbey's control over the world was likened to a draconian military domination, although the intent was to combat the mysterious illness daemonblight. But I already know that that was an outright lie. Shepherd Artorius expected everyone to behave according to his belief, but he didn't tell anyone the truth. Even if he was trying to save the world, he was only leading it down a different path of damnation."

"Got that right. I stopped here a few times to deliver goods, so I remember this place pretty well."

"Kappa…?" Rhett raised her eyebrow. "Just… how old are you, anyway?"

"Ah! No wonder you seem perplexed! I'm talking about past events as if they happened yesterday! No worries; a real man would never be offended about telling his age! I'm about three… three and a half thousand years old or so…? Kind of lost track after a while."

"Uwah!?" she gasped, startled to realize she was traveling with someone who lived even before the Era of Asgard.

"What's the big deal?" Symonne grumbled. "Turtlez are known to live up to 10,000 years, maybe even more."

"I-I didn't know that! I only know about seraphs living that long!"

"Hee hee! Are you surprised?" Kappa chuckled and flashed his teeth with a big goofy grin. "I bet a researcher like you would love to pick the brain of someone who's seen every corner of the world, right? But keep asking me more questions and it's gonna start costing you."

"Oh please," the seraph groaned. "She can just ask a seraph or two about the details for free. I've told her many things about the past, and I haven't expected a single gald from her."

"Oh yeah? How old are _you_ then? Can you boast about living as long as I have?"

She narrowed her eyes fiercely. "A real man would not ask a proper lady her age, would he?"

"Yeah, I know. The key word is _proper_ though."

"Why, you smarmy little-"

Before they could get into another heated argument however, the group heard the distinct sounds of boots running on soft dirt. They looked around to discover themselves surrounded by around 20 to 25 well-armed men, and all of them looked intent on putting up a fight against the tired travelers.

"Well look what crawled out of the woodwork," Symonne grumbled in disdain, knowing she wouldn't be heard by the assailants.

"Stop right there, Turtlez!" the leader of the mercenaries called out. "You're under arrest for trespassing and theft!"

The man didn't look to be much older than Rhett even though his eyes sported heavy bags beneath them, and he had hilariously messy maroon hair frayed around his cranium that made him look like he always had a bad case of bed head. His attire wasn't particularly fancy, consisting of a simple grey trench coat with black trimming, grey pants, black boots and gloves, and a worn breastplate over the coat. A large broad sword was attached to a sheath on his back. He clearly had the aura and appearance of a traditional swordsman, but Rhett could see in his cold steel grey eyes that he was no amateur in the battlefield.

"Gah! I wish I had a weed killer equivalent for bounty hunters!" Kappa yelped.

"We heard what happened to Kelton and his guys in Faldies! You managed to get backup to ambush them, didn't you!?"

"That's not quite what happened…" Rhett muttered, but knew it would be pointless to explain to them.

"Shut up! I won't forgive you for what you two did to my buddy and his men! Don't think that you're going to get the drop on us this time though, you sticky-fingered Turtlez! We told the regent what happened with all of the strange magic flying around, and he suspects that you have a seraph in your group!"

Symonne grinned, "Even just knowing that is pointless. What can they possibly do to-?"

"Well now it's my turn to show you a trump card!"

"What!?"

The angry mercenary took out a strange orb that contained some kind of magical energy, then hurled it at the solid ground. It shattered into pieces and released an aura that surrounded the immediate area. Although it felt like nothing happened, the brigands gasped when they could finally see Symonne appear before them like a ghost, and responded with mixed emotions of awe and surprise. The livid girl shouted, "What kind of sorcery is this!?"

"An artificial domain," the leader said confidently and unsheathed his sword. "It temporarily gives us resonance so we can see seraphs. The effects won't last long, but it'll be enough for us to put all three of you down!"

"You're kidding!" Rhett gasped.

"By the way, young man," he pointed at her. "Since the Turtlez didn't have a seraph with him, the regent suspects that you brought one with you, which means you must possess resonance in order to coordinate that battle in Faldies."

"Guh…" she swallowed and got her spear ready.

"Thought so. The other two will die, but the regent will pay us handsomely if we bring you back alive."

"Doesn't look like saying no is an option for me, is it?"

"Don't waste your time. We'll beat you to the ground if that's what it takes. In the name of my Oriel Brigade, we will defeat you and reclaim our honor as warriors!"

The mercenary leader, Oriel, gave the trio no chance to prepare themselves and ordered his men to rush them. Kappa and Rhett yelped in astonishment at their readiness to fight. Symonne maintained her composure and used her magic to teleport them out of the center of the onslaught moments before the dumbfounded men piled around the suddenly empty space.

"Teleportation?" Oriel snapped and glared over at where the three reappeared nearby. "You won't get away!"

He barreled straight for Kappa while unleashing a battle cry. Rhett jumped into the fray and blocked his sword swing with her spear. She maintained a strong defense against him, but he wasn't giving her any chances to counterattack.

 _Just as I thought, he's a seasoned warrior,_ she thought. It was hard to tell if Oriel recognized her own battle prowess, but at least she could sense that he was indeed taking her seriously.

" **Photon Burst!"** Symonne called out after chanting her spell and launched an orb of fire at Oriel. Rhett pushed herself off him and jumped back to avoid the powerful burning explosion that followed, momentarily engulfing the mercenary in a burst of searing red heat. "It's a waste of time to fight them! Get moving!"

"Run away! Run awa~ay!" Kappa shouted.

The trio immediately turned to flee, leaping off the nearest hillside and landing upon the soft grass. They then hurried to a peninsula that stretched southward away from the ruins of Hellawes.

"Pah! That way leads to a dead end!" Oriel laughed. "Alright men, chase them down! We'll trap them at the coast!"

Rhett looked back when she heard the roar of multiple footsteps charging in the distance behind the group. She took a glance forward and realized where they were going. She called out, "Hey! We can't go any further like this!"

"The wetlands aren't too far away! Maybe we can make a swim for it!" Kappa assured.

"Are you kidding!? Symonne and I can't swim like you can!"

"Hmph…" the seraph grunted. She appeared to be concentrating on some kind of spell, but neither of her comrades knew what it could be. They reached as far as they could, stopping upon the high coastline that arched over the raging waves. They stared back at the horde of mercenaries as they approached the trapped trio, with Oriel in the lead. Rhett huffed and gasped for air while trying to figure out her options.

"Are we finished playing tag?" he demanded. "This is where you'll meet your end. I suggest you start making peace with yourselves before we mete your punishment for disrupting Northgand's order."

"There's too many of them to fight," Rhett murmured between clenched teeth. "We might have to surrender…"

"Heek! I can't lose here! I have to keep it safe, no matter what!" Kappa panicked. She glanced at him curiously. This was the first time she heard anything about him holding on to something important.

 _Keep 'it' safe? What is he talking about?_

"Feh," Symonne sounded unusually nonchalant. "Foolish whelp. It is you who should be making peace with yourself."

"What are you talking about!?" Oriel snapped.

"Yes… You should prepare yourself for bringing bad news to your precious regent. Oh, I can only wonder in anticipation at what your sentence will be."

Just then, she raised her arm and surrounded herself, Rhett and Kappa in a sinewy white aura. He realized what was going on and charged at the seraph before she could complete the spell. Symonne's grin was deliciously wicked as she finished casting a much stronger teleport that could carry them across the ocean towards the closest landmass to the south; the Plitzerback Wetlands.

" _Shit!"_ Oriel cussed at the top of his voice and slammed his blade into the ground in frustration. There was no way he could organize a ship to carry him and his men across the water, and going through Trizolde Cave would take much too long for him to catch up. "I wasn't expecting the seraph to be capable of teleportation. Whatever her oath is, it must be a powerful one."

"What should we do, boss?" one of his cronies asked. "Should we tell the regent what happened?"

"No. That would cosign us to execution. We have no choice but to go through Trizolde and regroup in Lohgrin. We will follow rumors about that Turtlez and his new associates until we catch up. Finding people matching their descriptions shouldn't be too hard – it's not often that someone walks around wearing bandages over one of their eyes," Oriel replied, thinking of Rhett's distinct appearance.

"But with the seraph being able to warp around like that, she could force us to run around in circles."

"I know. Send a message via carrier pigeon to the institute. I'm sure they'll know what to do to counter that witch's powers. All we have to do is maintain the pursuit."


	4. Chapter 4: An Improper Evolution

**TALES OF QUETZALIA**

 **Chapter 4: An Improper Evolution**

The Plitzerback Wetlands, just south of the flourishing Zaphgott Moor, was a sunken rainforest dotted with countless lily pads that were gigantic enough for people to walk across. Large flowers grew their roots through the rising water for meters on end and blossomed at the surface, popularly symbolizing determination in Rolance floriography. Frogs, ducks and crickets sang, and many fish bobbed about for air before slipping back into the depths.

Upon a high-rise rock, the stillness was disturbed when several white strands of magic materialized, followed by three people popping into existence. Some ducks that were swimming nearby flew away, startled by these strangers coming in from nowhere. The trio were clearly exhausted, but glad to have escaped from Oriel and his band of mercenaries.

"There you go. Those gold-pinching chumps won't be able to catch up to us now," Symonne muttered dismissively.

"Thanks…" Rhett panted and leaned forward, clenching her knees to catch her breath.

"Whew!" Kappa exhaled and collapsed on his back in relief. "I don't know what just happened, but I'm glad to be out of that hothouse!"

"So then," the seraph crudely leaned over him and glared sharply. "Mind telling us what's going on now?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb, you annoying brat. I heard you say it – 'I have to keep it safe, no matter what'."

"Eh, did I say that? You must be imagining things."

"I may have a wild imagination, but it's not for pretending to hear stupid things. It's obvious you're not telling us the whole story."

"Don't be silly! Have I not been honest all this time!?"

Symonne smacked her wand against her hand in a threatening manner. "Oh ho, gonna have to do this the hard way, huh? Then I don't mind teleporting you to Northgand's greedy regent and earning that nice little reward for myself."

"W-Wait, wait, wait! Anything but that!"

"Then _start talking._ "

"Geez, what's your problem, Creepy Girl? I didn't do anything to make you this mad, did I?"

"Oh, I don't know about that," the dark-garbed girl stood up and arched back in her signature bored-like pose. "We weren't strong enough to clean up those losers, so they're probably scurrying back home and telling everyone about us being your accomplices. That means we'll be wanted fugitives with plentiful bounties on our heads for those gald-obsessed savages to chase after."

"Gah… Bully to you, I guess."

"See? This is your fault, shrimp. The least you can do is provide us with a good explanation for getting us in this mess."

"Oh, fine," the merchant boy relented and got to his feet. "I guess I owe it to Rhetty for being such a trusty bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" Rhett sighed. "I don't remember agreeing to do such a thing…"

"Anyway! While we go through the wetlands, I'll spill all the beans I've got! And don't think for a second that fighting will just be a one-sided deal! I'm gonna pitch in and show you what a real man can do in the most hellish of kitchens! You scratch my shell and I'll scratch yours, deal?"

"All right. If we're going to be in for tough times ahead, we should keep each other safe. But honesty is the most important policy, understand? No more keeping information from us," she replied and shook his gloved hand.

Symonne threw her hands up in irritation and grumbled, "Whatever."

It was approaching the early evening hours, so the only source of daylight remaining was the bright orange glow of the fading sun. The rest of the sky gradually turned dark, allowing the first stars to shine like glitter in the deep indigo night. A long time ago, the water level in these wetlands was at a proper ground level, but over the years it rose until it submerged everything except for the highest rock faces. It was just enough for them to traverse back to Zaphgott Moor in the north if they wanted to, but they were also exhausted from fleeing for their lives out of the hostile Northgand.

"Let's sleep here for tonight," Rhett suggested, and they sat down to rest their weary feet. Kappa took out some simple snacks for the two of them to eat.

"Good time as any for our excess baggage to start dumping his story on us," Symonne glared at him.

"Fine, fine," Kappa shrugged, then announced, "Better listen up good, ladies, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. The reason Northgand is so hell-bent on capturing me is due to a little something-something I've got in my possession."

He opened his bag and went through it fervently for a minute until he pulled out a golden trinket that looked like a tube with a hatch on the top. A faint glowing blue 'bubble' surrounded the object, and indecipherable runes swirled around it for brief moments, fading in and out constantly.

"What in the world is this thing?" Rhett gazed at it with unadulterated awe. "It's like nothing I've ever seen in history books or museums."

"Of course you wouldn't know about it. Things like these aren't supposed to exist."

"'Aren't supposed to exist', you say?"

"There are more of these objects out there, and Northgand's regent is chomping at the bit to get his paws on them. In fact, he already has several of them in his possession, and he's trying to take this one from me to add to his pretty little collection."

"So the reason all of these strange things are happening is because he's researching the knowledge contained in these mysterious objects?"

"Nailed it on the proverbial head!"

"So what are they exactly?"

"I don't really know the details, so this is just word of mouth going 'round the grapevine. I heard the top brass callin' them Out Of Place Artifacts, or OOParts. The trinkets themselves don't do anything, but notice the writing around the orb surrounding this one?"

"Yes, I keep seeing old runic text here and there. I can't make out what it says though."

"That text is the _real_ juice behind these babies. Figure out what they're saying and you can learn all sorts of neat things that you're not supposed to! Things like long lost secrets, the truth behind mysteries of the world, ancient artes forgotten to time, and even how to make technology many, many years ahead of our time!" Kappa threw his arms up for extra emphasis.

Symonne sighed in consternation and moaned, "Well that's just great. So the stupid humans are scouring the world for these little things and translating the text so they can make forbidden weapons to help them win their silly territory wars. Typical, typical, typical."

"OOParts, hm?" Rhett wondered curiously. "It almost makes me think of those multicolored gems I sometimes see in temples and other places of worship."

"You mean Iris Gems? Kinda, sorta, but not quite," Kappa said. "Iris gems are just records from the Earthen Historia of past events. These things are just as mysterious, but are totally different in function. You could say they represent the future rather than the past, but no one knows where they come from."

"Interesting. So the OOParts have the power to change humanity's future with their knowledge, and we're only beginning to see the effects with Northgand's sudden rise in power?"

"Yep, yep. That'd be the long and short of it."

"I wonder if Rolance and Hyland know about them."

"Uh… Er, about that-"

"Good god, I'm getting the chills just thinking about it," Symonne interrupted Kappa without realizing it. "Humans are already stupid enough to raise their swords against each other. If we start adding weapons that they have no idea how to control, we might as well call it QED for human history."

"But not all technology is meant to be used for war," Rhett retorted. "I'm sure there are things out there that could benefit society."

"Doesn't matter what it is. If it exists, humans will turn it into a tool of destruction. Hell, even a pine cone can become lethal in the wrong hands."

"Now you're just exaggerating."

"Am I now?"

"But it's a problem if only Northgand has access to these OOParts. With the powers that we've witnessed, Rolance and Hyland don't stand a chance even if they banded together."

"To arms race or not to arms race, that is the question, huh?"

Kappa twiddled his fingers as he uttered, "I, uh… I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news during such a hearty debate, but…"

"What, you got more to say?" Symonne demanded. "I get the feeling you're just gonna piss me off more if you don't tell us, so you might as well talk."

"That's enough. You're being rude," Rhett chastised her, then said to Kappa, "Whatever it is you want to say, go ahead. I promise not to get angry."

"Well, the thing is," Kappa nervously uttered, "I was hired to sneak into Northgand and steal an OOPart from them…"

"Who hired you?"

"Some representative from either Rolance or Hyland. I've been contracting my services as a super-secret mercenary between them for the last few centuries or so, so I figured this would just be another run-of-the-mill job for me."

"You mean you don't know which nation hired you?"

"Hey, my biggest selling point is that I owe loyalty to neither of them, and I don't ask for the names of my clients lest I get captured and tortured into revealing who they are. Past experience, y'see. If they want something done, all they need to do is gimme the coin and I'll do it, no questions asked. Easiest way to do business, don't you think? I've got a bunch of ties to both countries, and even to some outside groups and guilds."

"I see. So that's how you wound up in this situation."

"So you're spying on Northgand for your mystery client, is that it?" Symonne asked. "What're you gonna do with that OOPart once you meet up with them? Sell it for some fantastic price? What a pathetic lump of worldly desires you are."

"I'm not a seraph like you are. I need food and shelter to sustain my lifestyle," Kappa objected with a flat glare.

Rhett sighed deeply and murmured, "I understand how you feel, but I don't think it's a good idea to sell these OOParts to either nation. Personally, I'd find a way to destroy them."

"Eh!? But I went through _so_ much trouble just to smuggle _one_ out of Northgand! You're out of your gourd if you think I'll just easily agree to destroying it!"

"Of course I know that. I certainly wouldn't want your effort to go to waste. But at the same time, if all three nations competed for the knowledge contained in these artifacts, I think human civilization as a whole would advance at such a rapid pace that it'd fall to ruin before anyone realized it. With these OOParts playing a brand new role in human history, they could very well wipe out humans from the face of the world if handled carelessly. It's happened in ancient times before – humans develop and gain so much power that they wind up being destroyed by that very same power itself."

Symonne tilted her head curiously and murmured, "You're talking about malevolence, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Malevolence…" Kappa widened his eyes as he realized the gravity behind Rhett's argument. "Man, oh man, this conversation just got real deep all of a sudden…"

"See? You need to think about perspectives other than your own," Rhett said. "The jobs you took in the past may have caused trouble for some people, but this is a whole new league we're dealing with here. We can't tread carelessly when we have forbidden knowledge on the line."

"But then, what should I do with this OOPart?" Kappa whimpered as he stared forlornly at his treasure.

The adventurer pondered for a moment, then said, "Well in hindsight, maybe it was too rash of me to say that we should destroy it. We should hang on to it for now and see what happens."

"Maybe the knowledge this thing contains is really no big deal," Symonne shrugged. "After all, it looks like some tube of toothpaste with a covered hole in the top. What good could that do anyone?"

"On the surface it might look silly to you, but maybe it has some practical use that we could've never imagined. I wonder if there's a way to translate the text that the object is emitting to make absolutely sure it won't be a huge detriment to society."

"Those Northgand fools have been able to translate the runes for other OOParts, so it shouldn't be impossible for us. You're always sticking your nose in history books, and I know a thing or two about old texts like that."

"Rhett, you like reading about history?" Kappa widened his eyes exuberantly.

She nodded. "Ever since I was honorably discharged from the military, I've taken a keen interest in learning about the past. I'm especially fascinated with discovering the origin of malevolence."

"Eh? That's just silly. Malevolence is generated by the impurity in human hearts, and it's toxic to all life forms. Even then, humans don't know that they're creating it. How're you supposed to go about researching malevolence when there aren't any human records of it? I think that's just a waste of time."

"There may not be _human_ records of it, but with Symonne's help, I've come across other sources of valuable information. I've learned quite a lot about its effects, but I'm still unsure of _why_ humans create malevolence in the first place. Seraphs and animals don't generate it, so why only humans? _That's_ what I want to find out."

"Why only humans?" Kappa raised an eyebrow. "Well, um… That's… actually a good question."

"There you go. That's why I'm traveling. If I can figure that out, I could at least write a record about it and pass that knowledge to future generations so they can discern a way to relieve this world of malevolence. Then we wouldn't have to rely on the Empyrean Maotelus and the Shepherds to purify it all the time, especially since the Celestial Record II tells us that even the Five Lords can potentially turn into hellions. I find it frightening that nothing in this world, even those who are supposed to save us, is immune to malevolence."

"I still think it's futile," Symonne interjected.

"Well I'm not going to decide that until I see it for myself."

"Hmm, hmm, hmm! So we all understand why we're on this journey! Very well!" Kappa declared. "As a real man, I can't stand by and ignore your cause! We have to avoid the bad guys, figure out what to do with my OOPart, and simultaneously help you with your research! Piece of cake!"

The seraph looked away and groaned, "That already sounds impossible…"

"Let's just be cautiously optimistic about this, okay?" Rhett chuckled hesitantly. "Our priority should be to figure out what our next step is. With the unusual nature of these OOParts, I honestly don't know where to go looking."

"You got me there. Any ideas, shrimp?"

Kappa confidently put his hands on his hips. "Nope!"

"Way to kill the momentum."

Rhett chuckled, then said, "Well at the very least, I should go back to Pendrago and report to General Strelka about my findings."

"You know the Rolance General!?" he exclaimed in genuine surprise.

"Only because I served the Platinum Knights a few years ago, under one of his captains of course. I don't actually know the general from personal experience. He just hired me on behalf of the kingdom to survey northwestern Rolance after Lohgrin was occupied by Northgand."

"Ohhh, I get it! Then let's use this little side trip to figure out what to do next."

"Don't talk about the OOPart to anyone, okay?"

"Roger!"

"Then let's get some sleep. We have a long trek ahead of us tomorrow."

* * *

Another dream.

Rhett knew where she was. Even when she didn't feel like she was in full control of her faculties, her mind was aware enough to tell her that she was not in the real world. She immediately recognized the place where her dream took her; a familiar place surrounded by grass and well-known flowers of varying styles and colors, such as the bright pink Princessia, the deep lavender Sopheria, the fiery red Edna, and the pure white Selenia that only grew in dark places. In the middle of this quiet landscape was a grave marker with a name written in ancient cipher; Amswoks Lubb.†

Rhett wanted to approach the grave and lie in repose with the one who was buried beneath the verdant ground. However, two figures were already standing there waiting for her arrival. One was easily taller than the other and wore the traditional robes associated with Shepherds. The shorter person had long clothes that reached his knees, and sported a distinct halo-like strand of hair over his head. She could see their bright eyes against the deepness of their silhouettes – both of them had lively green irises that emanated warmth and friendliness to all those they gazed upon.

She often saw these two together, consistently greeting her when she went to the darkest corner of her mind to grieve for the deceased person. The strangest thing to her was that they only started appearing five years ago; precisely when she fought in that bloody war as a Rolance soldier. They always acted close and tried to talk to her, but her mind hadn't reached the point where she could actually hold a lucid conversation in her dreams and expect to remember it once she woke up. Once again, Rhett approached the unknown pair, and they likewise said something like hello, followed by a bunch of words that she couldn't comprehend. They sounded like distant mumblings that made no sense even if she were to completely concentrate on their words.

 _Stop talking so fast… I can't understand you… What do you want from me…?_

They saw how vapid she looked and stopped moving their lips. The taller figure walked up to her and took her hand between his palms, and said nothing further. Likewise, the shorter person took her other hand between his, and also ceased talking. Both of them simply smiled at her.

 _Who are you…?_

For once, Rhett actually felt like she was asking the question with her own mouth. Whether or not they heard it was up for debate. Regardless, the Shepherd-like man was very patient as she heard him mumble, _"It's ... kay…"_

" _Ju… ittle… ore time…"_ the short-statured boy added. _"It wo… be long… until you… can hel… us…"_

Rhett certainly could hear them better this time, but it still felt like they were babbling nonsense to her. A glowing light on her right hand caught her attention, and she looked at it to discover an unusual symbol resembling the letter V inside a crescent. She stared at them again, unsure of what was going on. Their smiles consoled her though, telling her that it wasn't dangerous. For some reason, she felt a lot more relaxed than before. She sat before the grave in complete silence, trusting that the two figures would not get in the way of her mourning. The mysterious pair remained by her side, not wanting to disturb her private time but also not wanting her to be left alone.

* * *

As Rhett and Kappa slept through the night, Symonne remained awake. Seraphs like her didn't require sleep, so the late hours always gave her a chance to contemplate. She was a loner by nature and wasn't used to traveling with companions, especially rambunctious people like Kappa, so this was her time to mentally recharge and get her thoughts in order. Tonight though, she had her attention on Rhett. She sat next to her partner and simply stared at her.

 _You're going to see them again, aren't you?_

She took Rhett's hand and removed the black glove, revealing the same sigil faintly shining on the back.

 _I can only wonder how long it will be until she realizes what's truly happening._

Symonne turned her focus to the bright moon hanging over the pitch black sky. She stared at it with unenthusiastic amethyst eyes, but her thoughts refused to remain still. An incredibly faint smile crept on her lips.

 _How interesting. I see her as an ideal Lord of Calamity, yet the Shepherd wants her to become one of his Squires. The human heart really is a strange thing, isn't it? Always in a struggle against itself…_

She gingerly stroked Rhett's short white bangs.

 _But I won't let you win, Shepherd. You took what was important to me, so it is now my turn to do the same. Rhett will become the final Lord of Calamity and bring upon the Era of Silence, just as I have dreamed. This putrid, ugly world where Angels of Death like me are born shall be rendered asunder by her hand, and I will be there to watch as she takes away everything you worked so hard for 1000 years ago._

Symonne stood up and reached her hand out for the moon, pretending to clench it in her fist.

 _Rhett and I have been at this world's mercy for too long. It is time I ended this… both for myself, and for her._

* * *

The next morning, Rhett and Kappa woke up with sore legs and heavy eyes. It was difficult for them to get any sleep on the partially submerged boulder they found refuge upon, and Rhett's vivid dream didn't help her at all. She stretched her torso and arms for several minutes to work out the kinks, but there wasn't much she could do about the fogginess in her head.

 _I had that same dream again… Honestly, is it asking too much for me to get a good night's sleep anymore?_

"You don't look so good," Symonne said. "You need some more rest?"

"No, I'm fine. I'll feel better once we get moving."

"So how are we gonna go about this?" Kappa asked. "It'd be easiest for us to go back to Zaphgott and slip through the Camelot Bridge Ruins."

"But what if anyone from Northgand follows us through Trizolde? That Oriel fellow was quite determined to capture us," Rhett said. "If we went north, our paths would practically converge at Camelot."

"There really isn't any other way, is there?"

"Why not go through Westronbolt Heights instead? It's closer to us than Zaphgott."

"No way! It's practically in the same state as Plitzerback! You'd be hopelessly lost trying to find a way around that place!"

"You're saying there's still a way though, right?"

"Sort of… If you put your mind to it, you could hop over the rocky platforms and find an old trail back to the pasture. I still don't recommend it though. No one lives around there, so you wouldn't be rescued if you got in an accident."

"You're a Turtlez, aren't you? You were boasting about how you were such a great swimmer back when we first met."

"T-That's true, but I'm a Kappa, not a Turtlez!"

Symonne shrugged, "Who cares? I'd rather take that way than bump into those worthless cretins again."

"You're just gonna teleport all around the place while laughing at us, aren't you, Creepy Girl!?"

"Keep up that attitude and I just might."

Rhett said, "It might be dangerous, but we're going through Westronbolt. I don't know how long it'll take, but as long as we go nice and slow, we should be able to cross. Let's get moving."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE

† - loosely translated as 'Altruist Megg'


End file.
